Sky Blue
by CDV10
Summary: Chris Irvine was ready to make his grand return to the WWE. Everything was going according to plan, until he received a package that's going to change his life...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Don't own anything. This story is set to when Chris had yet to make his return to the WWE. Enjoy. :)**

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Chris Irvine slowly opened his eyes, vaguely wondering in his sleep-induced haze why he had woken up in the first place. He raised his head slowly and glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand, only to see that the bright red digits were reading 4:28 in the morning. He groaned and turned the other way, closing his eyes and drawing the pillow up closer to him. It was way too early to be up, and he already had an intense day ahead of him. Radio show appearances, some promotional things here and there for his band, and then his big return later that night on Raw… that was his last coherent thought before he started to doze again.

Some seconds later, he opened his eyes again, now hearing the knocking coming in more clearly. He groaned again and shoved his covers angrily off of him, wondering who the hell that could possibly be. Unless this was some kind of emergency, his mood wasn't going to improve until he went back to bed. It had taken him almost an hour to fall asleep with his nerves and anticipation for the following night, and he didn't exactly appreciate his shortened sleep being interrupted any further.

"I'm coming!" he snapped at the knocking, effectively stopping it as he trudged over to his hotel room door. He tried to imagine who it could be, but no one knew about his in-ring return that night. It had been a well-kept secret between only the top WWE brass and himself, because no one wanted it to get leaked online. Vince had even told him to keep it from his friends, so unless his head honcho for a boss had decided to grace him with a visit at the crack of dawn, Chris was at a loss for who it might be.

He reached the door and peered through the peep-hole, seeing a girl standing there. She was blonde and she was dressed provocatively in a snug mini-skirt and a revealing top. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, before opening the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, not opening the door all the way. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go back to sleep.

"Hey, are you Chris Jericho?" she asked, looking him over as he inwardly groaned.

"Yeah, but don't you think it's a little early to be acting like the president of my fan club?" he asked, not masking his annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I saw you walk by in the lobby earlier and I just had to see if it was you…"

"Well, it's me, is that all you needed?" he demanded, craving his sleep. This girl was either a fan or a ring rat, and right then he actually preferred to be well-rested than to get laid. Tomorrow night, after his big return, he'd be up for some celebrating with the ladies.

"So I take it you don't remember me," she said slowly, and he squinted at her and tried to place a name to her face. He racked his brain for a moment, but he was tired and came up with nothing.

"Look," he sighed, getting irritated now, "I don't remember you, if I even ever knew you, it's 4:30 in the morning right now, and I'm not up to beating around the bush with anyone, okay? If you've got nothing important to say, then say so and let me get some damn sleep, will you?"

"Wow," she said, almost sadly, "And here I thought you would've remembered our night together last year."

"Last year?" he asked, gazing at her in confusion.

"Yeah, you don't remember? Right here in Vegas," the blonde girl said with a hint of a smile. "You were quite the man that night…"

"Was I drunk?"

"You were drinking, yeah," she told him.

Chris sucked at his teeth, not wanting to remember that night last year when he was in Las Vegas. He had blocked out that night for so long, knowing that he had drank the night away. He had wound up with some random girl in the morning, already cementing the end of a horrible day. He remembered the blonde hair, estranged blonde hair that told him he had fucked up for good. He gazed at the girl currently in front of him intently, taking in her green eyes as he tried to remember, but it was hopeless. He had left without ever saying goodbye, and with a horrific hangover to boot. There was no way he could recognize her now.

"What do you want?" he asked, wishing he hadn't ever opened the door.

"I don't know," she purred innocently, shrugging as he narrowed his eyes. "I just wanted to see if maybe you were interested in picking up where we left off…"

"Go home," he said, closing the door. She got a hand up before he could, stopping the door from closing and stepping forward a bit as he groaned in annoyance.

"I can't believe it, after that amazing night, you really don't remember me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, I don't remember you, I'm sorry," he said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry, really, but I only have a couple more hours to sleep, and it's kinda hard to get that sleep when I'm standing here talking to you… are we done here?"

He thought he caught a glimpse of a smirk on her face, before she carelessly shrugged, "Well, since you're being uptight tonight, I suppose we're done."

He mumbled a thanks as he rolled his eyes, closing the door and locking it to boot. Yawning, he trudged back to his bedroom, mentally cursing the precious few minutes of sleep he just lost. He collapsed onto his bed a few moments later, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. Now he could get his much-needed sleep…

He was just starting to doze when he faintly heard some noise. More asleep than awake, he ignored it at first, until he recognized it. He groaned into his pillow before raising his head and seeing his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. He reached out for it and grabbed it, bringing it closer and turning the vibration off. Raising the phone to his face, he squinted at the number, before sighing and flipping it open.

"Hello?" he mumbled, already laying back down.

"Hey man, it's Jay," came the voice on the other end.

"This had better be good," Chris said in one tired breath.

"Sorry to wake you up man, but I just had to call you after reading online that you're coming back… I thought you wanted to see how things were in TNA man, I don't think you really heard them out."

"What?" Chris asked angrily, turning so he was laying on his side and wide awake now. "Where the hell did you read that?"

"Is it true?" Jay asked, and Chris just sighed as he sat up completely in bed. He ran a hand over his mouth as he yawned, nodding, even though his friend couldn't see him.

"Yeah," he finally said, relenting. "I can't believe it got leaked online."

"Yeah, you know it all eventually does," Jay said with a chuckle. "I just think you should've given TNA another shot, looked it over more closely, seen what it really has to offer."

"I think this will be good for me man, it should be good, I just wish someone hadn't fucking leaked it," he said in annoyance.

"Well, whatever's right for you, I just had to call you as soon as I saw that… sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine, some girl was here just a few minutes ago," Chris said with another yawn.

"Oh," Jay said, his tone changing and growing lighter, more amused. "Well then, don't keep the ladies waiting…"

"Whatever," Chris said as he lay down on his back, gazing up at the ceiling. "It was some girl I hit it with last year, after, well, you know…"

"Yeah, I know, so what happened?"

"She found me, how she found me, I have no idea, you know how these girls can be damn stalkers," Chris said as he rolled his eyes. "She wanted another piece of me, I guess."

"Wow, and you said what?"

"I said no, not tonight man," Chris said as he closed his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow night, I'm just wired for tomorrow, I've got a busy day ahead and I just want some sleep."

"Alright, that's my cue to let you go," Jay said with a snicker. "Hope it all goes well for you tomorrow… or later tonight, if you want to get technical."

"Uh huh," Chris said, already getting tired again. "Call me after the show tomorrow, maybe we can catch up later on, like this weekend or something."

"Will do, take it easy man."

"You too," Chris mumbled, snapping his cell shut. He grabbed his pillow and turned on his side, looking over at the time briefly. It was almost five in the morning, and he had to be up in an hour and a half to start getting ready for his day. It was plenty of time to get some sleep…

The sun hitting his eyes was the next thing he was conscious of, before squeezing his eyes together and cursing the fact that he forgot to close the blinds of his hotel room window. He lifted his head and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was almost 9:00 in the morning, before laying back down and closing his eyes to go back to sleep. A few seconds later, the time dawned on him and he instantly sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, before looking at the time.

"Shit!" he cursed, immediately getting off the bed and looking around his room. He instantly thought of his phone, and he found it by his pillow. He snatched it up and groaned, seeing that he had around ten missed calls. How the hell could he have slept through that? He then remembered that it was set to vibrate, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was already an hour past the time he was supposed to meet with a radio show, and he cursed again.

He checked the time. He only had one hour to get to his next radio show appearance. No sooner had the thought left his mind than he already had his suitcase up on his bed, digging through it for something to wear.

"I can't fucking believe I slept in," he mumbled to himself as he threw out a clean t-shirt and some jeans, all while listening to his voicemails with his phone held between his shoulder and his cheek. He sighed when he heard Vince's voice come in.

"Chris, it's me, Vince," his boss said on the phone. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed by now, but word's gotten out on your return tonight. I thought I told you not to tell anyone, so I don't understand how this could've happened -"

Chris snapped the phone shut, not wanting to hear it as he looked around his room for his duffel bag for later that night as he slipped on his jeans. He was just zipping them up when he heard another sound, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance when he recognized the sound as a baby crying. It was probably someone in a room next to him, so he didn't pay it much mind as he pulled his t-shirt on over his head while going to get his duffel bag. He lifted it and tossed it on his bed next to his suitcase, opening it and making sure he had everything.

Just then, his cell phone started vibrating again. He looked at it and groaned at the sight of Vince's name coming up, and he made a mental note to call his boss on the way to the radio show he was scheduled to appear on. He was supposed to promote his band, and he had already blown off one commitment that morning.

And not only that, but the baby he heard a moment ago was crying louder.

"Someone shut that kid up," he mumbled, making sure he had his outfit he was going to wear later that night. He also had packed his ring tights and boots, just in case. You could never be too sure. His cell phone went off again and he growled impatiently, snatching it up and answering without checking to see who it was.

"Yeah?"

"Chris? This is Stephanie, where the hell have you been?"

He rolled his eyes at the sound of her tone, "I'm still at the hotel, I slept in late, I haven't left yet."

"My dad wants to know who you told about you coming back."

"I didn't tell anyone!" he said, exasperated as he zipped up his duffel bag. "Why the hell do you guys assume it was me?"

"Don't get smart with me," she said testily. "Who else could it have been? Oh, I know," she said sarcastically. "Maybe my mom was the one that leaked it out online, yeah, that makes more sense. I should go drill her about it."

"Maybe you should," he responded in the same tone as she sighed on her end.

"It was a simple question, all it needed was a simple answer," she said snidely, and he chuckled mirthlessly.

"Look, Steph, I'm really fucking busy right now, I'm running late, and I don't have the time to deal with you right now, mmkay?"

"Whatever, just watch who the hell you open your mouth to next time," she said, and he was about to respond when he was met with a dial tone. He snorted, snapping the phone closed and tossing it on the nightstand as an old familiar frustration crept up inside of him. How dare she just accuse him like that, he thought to himself as he sat down and slipped on some socks. It made zero sense – why would he want to sabotage his own return? That woman and her father made no sense sometimes. He was starting to think that maybe Jay was right after all and he should've gone to TNA when he heard the crying from the same baby getting even louder.

"Would someone shut that kid up!" he yelled, only to hear the cries get even clearer. He was about to put on his shoes when he stopped, listening more attentively to the cries. He frowned suspiciously as he quickly put on his shoes, before standing and walking slowly towards the door. Something in his stomach tied up when he noticed that the closer he got to the door, the louder the cries seemed to get.

He finally got to the door and looked up through the peephole, but he couldn't see anyone holding a baby. But the crying was there, and so he slowly opened the door and looked out. His heart sank when he saw a car seat sitting on the floor right outside of his door.

And it wasn't empty.

He looked down the hallways, down both ways and then one more time, as if to catch someone running away. But there was no one in sight. He ran a hand over his mouth, before looking down at the car seat and kneeling down next to it. This had to be a joke, he thought to himself as he observed the occupant of said car seat. But that occupant was definitely no joke.

Chris stared disbelievingly at the teary blue eyes of a baby boy, who was sniffling as he looked back at Chris in equal disbelief. The boy, and Chris assumed it was a boy since he was wearing blue overalls over a light blue shirt, was young. Chris didn't know much about babies, but he knew this kid was young. Next to the car seat was a diaper bag, and he once again looked around the hallways before grabbing the diaper bag. Sticking out of the diaper bag was an envelope, and he slowly took that out, only then noticing that his hand was trembling.

Chris sat down heavily in front of the car seat, his radio show appearance momentarily forgotten as he stared at the little boy in front of him, who was staring right back at him.

"How'd you get here?" he asked dumbly, wishing he'd get an answer but knowing he was holding the answer in his hands. The little boy didn't have much hair, barely any at all, but he had a small trace of blonde hair over his head. It was his eyes though that unnerved Chris… the boy's eyes were a bright and clear blue.

Just like his own. He looked down then at the envelope in his hands, and tore it open, pulling out a letter. He looked up at the baby, as if making sure he wasn't making it up, before unfolding the letter and reading it:

_Dear Chris,_

_I'm sorry that you didn't remember our night together, but as you can probably see for yourself, I've carried around a nice reminder of you for the last year. The baby you have in front of you is your son, Skylar… he's three months old. I hope you'll take good care of him._

No signature. He reread it, and then reread it again, before running a hand over his face. He then looked up at the little boy, and he could see it. The boy had his eyes. Chris sat there for a long time, staring at the baby sitting in front of him in a car seat, feeling like he was in a surreal moment. It felt like this wasn't really happening to him, like this only happened to people in movies.

But it made sense. No wonder she had come in to see him, she had maybe wanted to tell him about this, but he had practically cut her off. The timeline made sense anyways… he was three months old, he looked three months old anyways, and Chris had seen that girl a year before. The situation then hit him like a bag of bricks.

He had a son, and he didn't even know the mother's name. Not only that, but he had found out about said son by her dropping him off at her door. He wiped at his mouth with his hand as Skylar's bottom lip started trembling.

"Oh no you don't, no no no," Chris said as he stood up immediately. He lifted the car seat by the handle as he snatched up the diaper bag, walking back into his room. "Bear with me kid, and for God's sake, don't start crying." He put the car seat down on the dining table as Skylar sniffled again. "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

No sooner had he said that than the answering machine to his hotel room phone kicked in, "Hey Jericho," a man's voice came in, who he instantly placed as Jeff Jarrett. "Look man, we heard about you making a return to the ring tonight, and we just wanted to let you know, there's still time to weigh your options…"

Chris was making sure Skylar was fully strapped into his car seat when the little boy started to cry. "Come on kid, don't do this," Chris pleaded, even though Skylar's face was already turning into a shade of red as the choking sobs came.

"I mean, you don't officially debut until tonight, right? So if you have a change of heart, feel free to call me or Dixie, and we'll care of you man. Think about it," Jeff's voice stated as Chris dug through the diaper bag he had found. He pulled out a small stuffed bear, and he frowned at the sight of it, before offering it to the screaming baby in front of him.

"Here, take it," Chris said, watching as Skylar momentarily paused to look at the stuffed bear. He took it in his small hands, staring at it for a moment before throwing it on the floor and busting into tears again. Chris sucked at his teeth, wondering what he should do before hearing his cell phone go off again, vibrating on his nightstand. He sighed at the sound of it, before looking back at the car seat and noticing a pacifier in the side of the seat near Skylar's leg. He immediately retrieved it and gave it back to the little boy, instantly assuaging the tears and silencing the cries, if only for a moment.

"Man, you've got some lungs, kid," Chris said in amazement, still not fully digesting that this was his son. Skylar looked at him curiously through his teary eyes, sucking happily on his pacifier now as Chris darted back for his cell phone. He checked the time as he grabbed his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder, flipping open his phone that was ringing.

"Hello?" he asked, but he heard nothing. He held the phone out in front of him and saw that he had missed the call. It was from Stephanie, and he rolled his eyes as he flipped it closed. She could leave him a voicemail. He grabbed his shades and checked the time, seeing that he had to hussle to make his radio show appearance. He disappeared into the bathroom momentarily, looking into the mirror and completely forgetting for the moment about what he had found outside his door as he checked out his hair. He pulled out a piece of gum from his pocket and popped it in his mouth, flicking off the lights as he exited the bathroom and then his bedroom, snatching up his keys… before reality sucker punched him in the mouth again, in the form of a three-month-old baby.

He didn't really want to believe that that was his son sitting there, but the resemblance was almost uncanny. Still, his common sense did not want him to just accept this without any questions. But there was no one around to give him answers, and he couldn't just leave the kid alone. Chris ran a hand through his shortened hair, wondering if maybe there was someone he could leave Skylar with, and he briefly wondered if he should just take him to a police station and tell them he found the kid at his hotel room door and he didn't believe it was his son.

He glanced at the time and groaned, seeing that he had to leave and had to leave now. He only had two options – bring Skylar with him, or leave him somewhere. Chris might've been an asshole to some people, but the second choice wasn't much of a choice at all. Especially with the way Skylar was innocently playing with the blanket he was covered in as he sucked on his pacifier. The kid had already been abandoned once, and Chris wasn't about to make it twice on the same day, even if he didn't want to fully believe that it was his son.

And with that thought, he stalked right up to the table where Skylar's car seat was sitting on, slinging the diaper bag over his shoulder and mumbling obscenities under his breath as he grabbed the handle of the car seat. Skylar giggled behind his pacifier as Chris lifted him up.

"I'm glad you think this is hilarious, but this isn't funny, Skylar," Chris said sarcastically, slightly annoyed by whoever had just left him there but feeling some satisfaction in saying the boy's name out loud. "We're only going to get past today, and then I'm going to find out what to do with you, kid, so behave," he ordered, even though he knew the little boy had no clue what he was talking about. He just looked up at him.

He then heard his cell phone vibrate again and he closed his eyes, groaning, "Goddammit!" he hissed, turning and walking back into the room to retrieve his phone. He set Skylar's car seat down on his bed as he grabbed his phone, noting that Stephanie had left him a rather lengthy voicemail. He snorted, putting his phone in its clip and hooking it onto his jeans.

"Damn women," he mumbled, picking up Skylar's car seat and marching back out towards the door. He locked it behind him, before walking down the hallway. "I don't know who the hell your mother thinks she is, Skylar, if that's even your real name," Chris said to the little boy. He looked down at him as he walked towards the elevator, "Is that your name, kid? Skylar?"

The little boy looked up at him, his tears drying on his cheeks as he continued to suck on the pacifier. Chris nodded as he set him down on the floor, before pushing the button for the elevator. "Yeah, I thought so. I'll give you this, it's a cool name, but thirty odd years from now, I don't think you'll appreciate a bundle of Skylar being delivered to your door when your boss is Vince McMahon. Maybe then you'll appreciate the kind of situation I'm in right now," Chris told him as he chewed on his gum. "I'm not a babysitter, I'm no one's babysitter, kid," he said, crossing his arms as he stared at the little boy who stared back.

It was the worst possible time for this kind of thing to happen to him, but he was having a hard time denying that this was real. The timeline, the fact that she had come to visit him this morning, the boy's eyes, it was just… surreal. Skylar, the kid staring right back at him, was his, but that was just… he couldn't wrap his head around it. It was too much, too soon, and so he decided to derail his thoughts to something else. He remembered Stephanie's voice mail just then and decided to listen to it, because it would take his mind momentarily off the kid in the car seat at his feet and what he meant in Chris's world if he was indeed his son.

He snickered at that thought, deep down knowing he was denying the obvious. But the obvious right now was more than he could handle, almost to the point where he felt relieved to hear Stephanie's voice come in through his voicemail.

"Hey Chris, it's me again," she said, and he looked up at the elevator numbers so as not to look at Skylar, who was starting to whine. "Before you started acting like a jackass last time I called you, I just wanted to let you know that my dad wants you here an hour earlier than he originally told you. You seem to be having a problem answering your phone today, and we all need to talk about the fact that your return got leaked. We have to make some changes, so if you could get here early, that would be terrific, thanks," she said in a smartass tone before hanging up. He sighed as he hung up, not wanting to really deal with her more than he had to.

Skylar whined louder, and Chris finally looked down at him.

"What is it, huh? Can I get a moment to myself, kid?" Chris asked as the elevator opened. Just then a whiff hit his nose, and he sighed loudly as he closed his eyes. "Skylar, you've got to be shitting me!" he said in exasperation, and he heard the little boy giggling. Chris crinkled his nose back in disgust as he flipped open his phone again to cancel his appearance on the local radio show.

"Thanks a lot, kid," Chris said snidely as he looked down at Skylar. "You're making me look like a jackass over here, and if you think I'm about to change that bomb of a diaper, you must be mistaken," he informed the little boy, who just smiled up at him. "Yeah, hello? Hi, this is Chris Jericho, I was scheduled to be there in about twenty minutes…" he said as he picked up the car seat and looked around for the nearest bathroom. He spotted one and started walking towards it, already dreading what he had to do, "Right, yeah, well listen, something's come up and I'm really sorry, but I don't think I'm going to be able to make it…"

Chris disappeared into the men's bathroom with his phone call, and as soon as he did, two watchful eyes turned away and leaned back against the wall around a corner at the far end of the hallway. The female smirked, pleased that he was buying it and that he wasn't being a complete ass to her son. She had known that he wouldn't disappoint.

So far, so good…


	2. Chapter 2

"I front a rock band," Chris mumbled, a look of disgust on his face. "I've done improv, I've performed in a play, I'm a world champion…" he slowly removed Skylar's diaper and groaned at the smell. "Oh God, I can't do this… no, I can do this, I've done worse than this…"

Skylar giggled as Chris covered his nose at the smell. The little boy kicked his feet as he sucked on his pacifier, while Chris tossed the diaper bag on the counter where he was changing the little boy. Much to his annoyance, there wasn't a designated changing table in the men's room. There wasn't much else he could do but lay Skylar down on his blanket and try to go from there.

"I'm glad you think this is funny kid," he sneered, digging through the diaper bag. "You're screwing up my day, you know that?"

Skylar lifted his feet and tried grabbing onto his toes, but he couldn't reach them. Chris pulled out a diaper, and then some wipes. He turned back to the little boy, hesitating momentarily as he looked down at the mess in front of him. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the last time he had changed a diaper. Hadn't he changed one of his little cousins once, when he was like fourteen? That wasn't going to be much helpful now, over twenty years later. Sighing, he decided he was going to just have to plunge in and do it.

It couldn't be that hard anyways, right?

Right, he affirmed to himself as the door to the bathroom slammed open, startling Skylar just as Chris was grabbing his ankles together to be able to wipe him down. Chris looked over his shoulder at the man who was stalking in, wearing a suit and tie.

"Hey man, don't slam that door," he said in annoyance. The man stopped walking and looked back at Chris, as if surprised that he would speak to him that way.

"Or what?" the man challenged as Chris turned back to Skylar and began wiping him down.

"Don't try me," Chris warned, not in the mood to start something while he was trying to change a diaper of all things. The little boy started squirming and whining as Chris struggled to keep him still, "And that goes for you too, kid, you just lay there and be quiet."

"That your kid?" the man asked as he stood next to Chris and turned on the faucet.

"No, I kidnapped him because I need a chick magnet," Chris responded sarcastically as he finished wiping Skylar down. He wrapped up the dirty diaper in disgust and looked around for where to throw it out, keeping one hand on Skylar's stomach lest the kid roll off the counter or something.

"Aw man, that's disgusting!" the man said, making Chris turn back just in time to see a nicely arced stream coming from Skylar and landing right on the man's expensive suit. Chris snickered as the man shot him a death glare, before snatching up some paper towels and storming out of the bathroom. Chris looked down at the little boy in front of him who was still sucking on his pacifier as he looked back at him.

"You know, Skylar, you're not that bad," Chris said with a smirk as he grabbed another wipe. "I like the way you think." Skylar just smiled as Chris grabbed the diaper he had pulled out. He glanced at his watch, sighing at the time.

"Alright, so strategy time, kid. I'm going to put this diaper on you, and then put your overalls back on, and since I just bought myself a little bit of time, we're going to head to the store and pick up some toys to keep you entertained for the day. That'll give me enough time to figure out what to do with you. How's that sound?" he asked, putting the straps on the diaper. He then grabbed the overalls, hesitated for a moment, and put them back in the diaper bag.

"Scratch that, you don't need pants, it's nice outside," he said as he lifted Skylar up easily into his arms. He held him in one arm as he slung the diaper bag over the strap from his duffel bag on his other shoulder and picked up the car seat. "You like wrestling, kid?" he asked as they finally stepped out of the bathroom. Skylar clung onto Chris's t-shirt with his small fists, wide-eyed and probably wondering what was going on. "Well, you're going to learn to like it, cause we're going to watch Raw tonight. You can watch me kick everyone's ass, won't that be fun?"

He walked over and pressed the button to the elevator again, readjusting the bags slung over his right shoulder as he held Skylar in his left arm. He looked over at the little boy who was leaning against him, sucking on his pacifier in content, and he felt this strange urge to protect this kid. He was disgusted that someone could just abandon a baby the way Skylar had been abandoned, and it made him feel obligated to fend for him now. The kid didn't have anyone, and he couldn't fend for himself at all, and so Chris would have to fill the role for now.

He only wished it had been better timing so he could really sit down and think about what to do. Just then, his cell phone went off again, and he sighed as he looked away from Skylar. The more he watched the kid, the easier he could get attached. There was this doubt still settling uneasily in his stomach that he had no real ties to the little boy he was holding, even though his mind was telling him he was crazy and that this was his son.

He answered the phone, even though he would've bet Skylar himself that he knew exactly who it was without even checking, "Hello?"

"You know, I hate when you don't pick up the phone."

"Well that doesn't exactly seem really applicable right now, now does it?" he said snidely as he stepped into the elevator.

"Did you get my voicemail?"

"Yes, your highness, I got your voicemail, you want me there an hour earlier, I got it," Chris said as he pressed the button for the floor level. Skylar's eyes brightened at the sight of Chris's cell phone and the pretty blue light that was shining from the keys, and he reached for the cell phone, but Chris pulled back and frowned at the little boy, mouthing no to him. Skylar spit out his pacifier and started to cry as he squirmed in Chris's hold.

"What is that? Is that a baby?" Stephanie asked, her tone changing.

"Yeah, just some kid from some parents standing next to me," Chris lied instinctively, as he crouched down awkwardly to try and retrieve Skylar's pacifier.

"Ah, okay, well I talked it over with my dad and there's no real way to kill the buzz around your return now, and we have to go over your contract before you go out there tonight," she said as he picked up the pacifier on the floor of the elevator. He wiped it off his shirt, before inspecting it closer and wiping it again. "You're on a handshake agreement with my dad and you'd make his life, and mine for that matter, a lot easier if you went over this with us before the show tonight."

"Yeah, sure," he said absent-mindedly as Skylar cried louder in his ear.

"Are you even listening to me, Chris Irvine?" she demanded, and he sighed as he stood up with Skylar and tried to readjust the straps over his right shoulder.

Just then, the elevator door opened and he groaned at the sight of a crowd of people waiting to get into the elevator. He mumbled an excuse me here and there, his cell phone nudged between his shoulder and his cheek as he tried to move through the people trying to get into the elevator, all while trying to get Skylar to stop crying. And while he had a baby crying in one ear, Stephanie was ranting in his other, "You know, we're all under a lot of stress here, and we're trying to make your return run as smooth as possible, and it irks the shit out of me that you're being so nonchalant about this whole thing. Do you know how much work I have to do?"

"Yeah," he said as he rolled his eyes, walking across the lobby.

"And what is with that baby crying? Are you babysitting right now or something?" she asked, just as Chris finally got Skylar to take his pacifier. The little boy instantly settled down, making Chris feel a little more relieved.

"Baby crying? I don't hear a baby crying," Chris responded coolly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, I'm going to be busy for a while, so I just wanted to make sure you knew what we expect from you tonight. You know I like it when the shows run smoothly, so just… do what I'm asking of you, will you please?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it, relax," he said as he rolled his eyes, using his bags to push the door open outside. It was a sunny and warm day, and he felt good for the first time that entire day when he felt the sun's warmth on his skin.

"Chris…" she started, and he sighed.

"Don't worry, Stephanie, I'll be there to talk to your dad," he said as Skylar squirmed in his hold again. Chris was slightly annoyed and wished he would stay still, but so long as he didn't have a screaming baby right in his ear, he was happy with a squirming baby.

"Thanks, that's all I'm asking," Stephanie said genuinely, which made him smile a little. There was an awkward pause between them on the phone, pure dead air, before Chris hesitantly cleared his throat.

"I've gotta run, so I'll just see you around," he said.

"Alright, see you whenever I see you," she responded, and he hung up after that. He walked towards the parking lot, Skylar settled into his hold now and looking over his shoulder.

"She keeps calling me," he said out loud as he walked to the little boy, who just continued to suck on his pacifier. "We've only talked once since… well, yeah, we've only talked once, and that was her giving me a pitch to come back," he paused for a moment, "You know, I wonder if that's why they had her call me… women, kid, stay the hell away from them. They're nothing but trouble," he added, and then groaned in annoyance when he felt drool on his shirt. "Skylar, what the hell is your problem? Keep your spit in your mouth kid, before I put you in the Walls."

The little boy just giggled as Chris got to his car. He put down the car seat first and then let the diaper bag and duffel bag slide down to the ground. He then crouched with Skylar and sat him in the car seat as the little boy gazed up at him, smiling and kicking his feet.

"You think I won't do it, don't you?" Chris asked as he strapped the baby in. "Well, you don't know me very well… I believe in starting off kids early, and so it's never too early to get stretched a little and taught how to defend yourself. I might just have to call you out tonight, especially after you drooled on my shirt. You know how much this shirt cost me?" he asked as he snapped the buckle in place that secured the straps in the seat. "It cost me a whole twenty bucks man, that's twenty bucks you owe me, and no, I don't care that I make a lot more than that… actually after that diaper change, I think you owe me a thousand dollars. That's about right."

Skylar took out his pacifier and offered it to Chris, who blinked and then laughed. "I don't want that, you keep that thing man, that's yours," he told him as he stood and lifted up the car seat. He opened the back door to his car and peered in, scowling as he observed the seat belts. "How the hell do you put one of these things in?" he mumbled under his breath as he lifted the car seat and put it in. It couldn't possibly be that hard to figure out.

Fifteen minutes later, he was starting to feel like he was going to break a sweat as he tried pulling one of the seat belts that got stuck. "Goddamn seat belts!" he snarled angrily as Skylar sucked on his pacifier and just watched him. "Where the hell is the damn instruction manual for these things?" he muttered as he tried again to secure the seat belt across the car seat. As soon as he thought he had it, it snapped back. His scowl grew deeper as he glared straight ahead, chomping on his gum angrily. He almost dared Stephanie to call him again right then. Had she done so, he would've thrown his cell phone out of the car and into the street where it would hopefully get run over.

Thankfully, it didn't vibrate.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, cracking his neck as he did so. This could not be so hard. There was simply something he wasn't seeing.

"Uh, mister?" he heard someone ask from behind him. He peered over his shoulder and out the open door to his car to see a girl looking straight at him curiously. She looked to be around ten years old, and he could see what looked to be her parents taking out suitcases from their car that was parked next to his.

"Yeah?" he asked, praying to God that she wasn't about to declare herself his daughter or something. The way his day was going, it wouldn't surprise him at all.

"I've been watching you try to get the baby in, and I think you got it backwards."

He narrowed his eyes at her, not getting what she meant when her mother turned to her and scolded her for talking to a stranger. Right as she was doing so, she caught eyes with Chris for a moment, and her eyes widened. He looked at the woman strangely, wondering what was up with women these days as she approached his car the way her daughter had.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be brash, but are you Chris Jericho?" the woman asked, sounding amazed and excited. He offered a weak smile and a nod.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, trying to sound friendly as the woman turned to her husband.

"Babe, it's Chris Jericho!"

"Who?" the man asked with disinterest, and the woman glared at him while their daughter tried peering past Chris to see the baby boy she had caught a glimpse of in the car seat behind him.

"Jericho, Chris Jericho!" she told him firmly as she turned back to Chris who offered her a weary smile. "So are the rumors true, are you coming back tonight?"

He somehow kept the smile on his face by the skin of his teeth, "Where'd you hear that?"

"I heard through a friend who read about it online," she said, sounding giddy and he nodded.

"I'm a little busy today with my son," Chris said, moving a little so she could see the car seat next to him. She moved in a little closer to get a better look, smiling all the while.

"Aw, how cute, you have a son! Oh, he looks just like you, what's his name?"

"Skylar," Chris said, looking back at the baby and wondering if he had a middle name. He was then struck with an idea as he turned to look back at the family that was standing next to his car. He offered the woman a warm smile, "Hey, how about I give you and your friend official autographs if you could just help me get my son's car seat secured? We just got a new one, and I haven't quite mastered it yet," he said charmingly.

"Absolutely!" the woman said with a huge grin as her husband rolled his eyes. Chris got out from behind the back seat and ran a hand through his hair, looking over them both. They were both dressed very smartly, as if they had a formal event they were attending. Even the little girl was wearing a nice dress, complete with matching bows in her hair. He looked over to the man of their family, who was wearing a dress shirt and nicely pressed slacks.

"So, you don't watch wrestling?" Chris asked, happy to have a conversation that wasn't with a baby or with a stressed-out Stephanie for a change.

"Like Hulk Hogan and all that?" the man asked, shrugging as Chris snickered. "No, just the wife, I go play poker with my friends, she stays home and watches wrestling, it works."

"Cool," Chris said with a nod as the woman climbed out of his car.

"Alright, you're all set," she said with a friendly smile. Chris blinked, noting that it didn't even take her a minute, before looking in to see Skylar happily kicking his feet while secured in his back seat.

"Wow," he said in amazement. He kept his word and signed the autographs, but all the while he was wondering how easy this would have been if that girl who had left Skylar in his care would've waited and told him face-to-face about him. This kid had a mother, and she wasn't there to take care of him, and he was more than bothered that he was filling in both mother and father roles simultaneously for a son he didn't even know he had until earlier that day.

He sighed a few moments later after saying his goodbyes to the happy family, closing the driver's door next to him. He might as well start getting used to referring to Skylar as his son, since as the woman so politely pointed out, Skylar looked just like him.

"This is my son, Skylar," he said out loud, before hearing the little boy coo and kick in the back seat. He couldn't see him since the car seat was facing the other way, but it didn't make it any easier. "This is my kid, Skylar… something… Irvine," he said again, running a hand over his mouth. "Skylar Irvine… I can't do this," he sighed as he turned on the ignition to his car. Too much, too soon.

"How about some food, kid? I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Chris said as he pulled out of the parking lot. He got no response, and he rolled his eyes, feeling stupid for talking like he was expecting one. He contemplated calling Jay or maybe Rocky to just tell someone about what was going on with him. He thought about it for a while as he drove down the road in silence. Would it do him much good?

"I don't really know what to do with you, Sky," he said with a sigh. "What should I do with you?"

He thought about it for another moment, before snatching up the phone at the red light he was stopped at and hooking up his headset to it. A moment later, and he dialed a familiar number, deciding he needed to talk to someone.

"The Great One here," came the familiar answer, and Chris smirked upon hearing his friend's voice.

"Hey Rock," he greeted.

"Chris Jericho, is that you?" Rock said jokingly. "I heard you're coming back tonight, so I figured you'd be busy hitting on all the ladies and trying to get some guaranteed parties for later tonight man, what's up with you?"

"Rock, man, I'm in a bind," Chris said honestly, and Rock picked up on his tone and sighed.

"Alright Irvine, what'd you do this time? Are you in jail or something, because it might take me some time to get from Miami and bail you out -"

"I'm not in jail."

"Oh, what's up then? Does it have to do with her?"

"No… well… I guess you could… no, what the hell am I thinking, no man, it doesn't have… well, actually…" Chris trailed off as Rock snickered.

"Women problems, it never changes with you, Irvine," Rock said knowingly. "I'm telling you, you should just switch sexual orientation and find a man to make you happy, since you can't figure out the ladies to save your life."

"Yeah," Chris said dejectedly, and his tone set off alarms in Rock's head. There was no way Chris Irvine ever let an insult his way slide without some kind of rebuttal, so he knew this wasn't one of their familiar bantering phone calls.

"Hey man, you okay?" Rock asked, his tone genuine.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just… well, this morning, this girl came to visit me and she wanted us to spend the night together or something, I don't know."

"And this is a problem, why…?" Rock asked, not knowing where this was going.

"Well, it wasn't then, I kicked her out cause I wasn't in that kind of mood and I just wanted some sleep… and then I overslept and I stepped outside and… she left me something outside my door."

"What, a stalkerish kind of letter or something?" Rock joked, and Chris rolled his eyes.

"I wish… dude, she left me a kid," Chris said, still somewhat in disbelief that this was actually happening to him. There was a pause on the other end before he heard Rock laugh.

"Whatever Irvine, come up with something new then call me back," he laughed. "And you really had me going too, that was good man, that was good, I gotta give you that."

"Rock, man, I'm not kidding, she left me a kid in a car seat with a note," Chris said, looking in the rearview mirror to the car seat that carried a certain someone in his backseat. "He's three months old, and his name is Skylar."

"Uh huh, and I'm making my big return to wrestling on TNA later this week," Rock said disbelievingly.

"I'm not joking," Chris insisted. "I'm serious man, I'm dead serious, she says he's my son and she just… she just left him with me, and I don't know what to do man. She's easy and probably gets around, but this kid… he looks like me, he fucking looks like me, and the timeline makes so much sense, and I don't know what to fucking do man -"

"Okay, calm down," Rock said, the joking gone from his voice. "You're serious about this?"

"Yes, I'm serious, I swear I'm not making this up Dwayne," Chris said, and Rock knew he was serious because that was the first time Chris had referred to him in his real name since he had debuted in the company and they'd worked together.

"Wow," Rock said, at a loss for words for the first time in as long as he could remember. "She just left him there?"

"Yeah, right outside my door."

"He's probably not your kid, Chris, you can't just take that shit at face value," Rock said.

"He looks like me," Chris sighed. "He has my eyes… I don't want to believe it but… I think he's mine, I really do."

"A kid is a big deal, you can't just take this kid in no matter how much he looks like you," Rock tried to reason. "You need to go and get some DNA testing done and see if he's yours, because if he's not, you're not responsible for him."

"Yeah," Chris said, feeling better to have someone tell him what he had been feeling he should do. It just made it easier. "I just… I don't know, I have a hard time not believing it."

"She's probably trying to get your money."

"Then why would she just leave him with me? Why not tell me and try to get child support? That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe she's going to come back and say you kidnapped her kid, and she's going to hit you there for all you're worth."

"I have her letter saying she's leaving him with me, so that doesn't make sense," Chris sighed. "None of it makes sense."

"Where's the kid now?"

"He's with me, I couldn't just leave him… none of this is his fault, it's my fault. I was stupid as hell."

"One night stand?"

"Yeah, a year ago, after… well, you know," Chris said.

"Oh," Rock said knowingly. "So that's why you said it involved her."

"Well yeah, doesn't everything?" Chris asked jokingly, even though there wasn't real humor in his voice. "It doesn't matter man, thing is, this kid's here and he's real and he's my responsibility right now."

"Yeah, he is, but try and go get that done as soon as you can, Chris. This isn't a joke, you owe it to that kid and to yourself to know the truth, you're all he's got for now."

"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Thanks for hearing me out man, I appreciate it."

"No problem, giving advice is easier than posting your bail," Rock joked. "Good luck tonight on your return by the way, I'll make sure to watch it."

"Geez, does everyone know about me coming back tonight?"

"I heard from the wife, so yes, cat's out of the bag," Rock said with a laugh. "Take it easy, let me know how things go for you."

"Will do, thanks man."

"Anytime," Rock said as both men hung up. Chris removed the headset from his ear and looked over to the side of the street he was driving on, seeing a Babies R' Us coming up a few blocks away. He grinned at the sight of it.

"Alright kid, time to stock up on your supplies," he said as he turned into the parking lot a moment later. "I'm probably stuck with you tonight, so we need to stock up on… well, whatever it is that you need, we'll figure it out when we're there, how's that sound, Sky?"

He parked the car and got out a moment later, checking the time. He was probably going to have to cancel everything else he had scheduled for the day, and just make sure that Skylar was okay for the night. He hated to cancel anything, but Vince probably wouldn't be thrilled if he showed up to his appearances with a screaming and hungry baby. In the end, it would make everyone look bad and irresponsible.

He opened the back door of his car and Skylar looked over at him as soon as he did. Skylar stared at Chris, before a slow hint of a toothless smile crept to his face. Chris couldn't help but grin at the sight.

"You having the time of your life?" Chris teased as Skylar smiled all the way so that his pacifier fell out of his mouth. He drooled and looked towards it, trying to look for it before Chris picked it up for him and helped put it back in his mouth. He then leaned in all the way to unstrap the little boy.

"Alright, Sky, new battle plan," Chris said as he unhooked the straps around Skylar's shoulders. "I'm gonna go buy you some things so you can be good tonight, and hopefully as a reward, you'll sleep all night and tomorrow morning, we'll go get a DNA test done and go from there," he said as he lifted the little boy out of his car seat. He held him gingerly as he stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him, before shifting Skylar so he was holding him in one arm again. Skylar instinctively clutched to Chris's t-shirt again, going back to looking over Chris's shoulder.

"How's that sound, kid?" Chris asked as he instinctively reached for one of Skylar's feet with his free hand. He rubbed the bottom of his foot through the blue sock that was covering it and felt Skylar rest his chin on his shoulder. "It'll be interesting telling people about you tonight at the show, that's for sure," Chris said with a nervous chuckle as he walked towards the store entrance.

For the first time in months, he was not looking forward to his return.


	3. Chapter 3

Chris never felt more out of place than he did when he stepped through the doors to the baby store. All he could see were women and babies, and a few guys who looked bored and apparently were just there to accompany their wives or girlfriends or something. And there he was, standing and holding Skylar and feeling completely out of his element as he approached the aisles, hoping he wouldn't draw attention to himself.

"I can't believe I'm in here," he muttered to himself as Skylar looked at all of the babies that were in strollers and being carried around by their mothers while clinging to Chris's shirt. "This is all your fault, just so you know… okay, I think this is the food aisle," Chris said as he stepped into the first aisle. His eyes widened as he shifted Skylar over to his other arm.

"Holy shit, there's a lot of things here… alright, let's see," he said. He reached out and grabbed a Gerber's prune jar, and stared at it intently. "This seems healthy, do you like this?" he asked Skylar, showing him the jar. Skylar reached for it and took it clumsily, almost dropping it had it not been for Chris catching it. "Geez, you don't like it, I get it," Chris said, rolling his eyes and putting the jar back.

He walked further down the aisle, before stopping in front of baby formula. He reached out for a random container, and was trying to read what it said when he heard crying. He looked at Skylar, but he was resting his head on Chris's shoulder and sucking on his pacifier as he looked at the container of baby formula in Chris's hand. Chris looked around and saw a two-year-old girl in tears and throwing a tantrum at the end of his aisle as her father tried desperately to make her stop. Chris winced at the sight.

"Thank God your lungs aren't that developed," Chris said in a quiet voice to Skylar as he looked down to the container in his hand. He looked up and scanned the aisle, but there was so much, so many choices, he didn't know what to do. In that one instant, he felt completely overwhelmed and craved just throwing in the towel and leaving for the show. But Skylar had to eat _something_… and so there he stood, staring at baby formula and wondering how he got himself into things like this.

"Do you need help with anything?" a female voice asked, and he looked over to see an employee looking at him with a polite smile. He gave her a grateful smile, thankful that someone was there to help.

"Yeah, my ex-wife dropped off my son with me for a few days, but it was unexpected and I don't have anything to feed him… and I don't really know what to get him," he said sheepishly as Skylar lifted his head to look at who Chris was talking to.

"Oh okay, I can help you with that," she said, moving so she was standing next to him. "How old is he?"

"He's three months."

"He's adorable, he looks just like you, what's his name?" she asked, looking and smiling at the baby who was staring intently at her while sucking on his pacifier.

"Skylar," Chris said, feeling a strange feeling of pride as he looked at the baby in his arms. He laughed at the way he was looking at the girl, "I think he likes you."

"He's going to be a heartbreaker," the girl laughed, before looking back at the baby formula Chris had been staring at for a while. "He takes formula, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, what else would he take?" Chris asked, not sarcastically, but with genuine curiosity.

"He could be breast-fed," the girl said, before pulling out a container of baby formula. She skimmed over the labels, "Do you know what formula he was using?"

"Uh, no," Chris said uncomfortably. She looked up at him in surprise, and he shook his head, looking lost. "I really don't know what she was giving him."

"Well, you're not supposed to switch formula because he could get upset to his stomach… is there a way you could get a hold of her and ask?" she asked, and he shook his head again.

"No, we're not… on the best terms," he said, delicately making up a lie. "I already tried, but she didn't leave me with any real information. I'm kind of in a jam, he needs to eat," he told her, not wanting to come across as helpless, but he feared that that was exactly what he sounded like to her.

"Don't worry, I'll help you get him situated," she told him in a polite voice.

"Thanks," he said with a relieved smile. "I really appreciate it."

"We'll start with this formula, it might not be his per say, but it's good and I know plenty of moms who've switched to it and their babies haven't gotten sick, plus it has a lot of iron…"

Chris zoned out at this point, just nodding as she led him to various points in the store, picking out essentials. Turned out there were lots of essentials that Skylar needed, so much that it was making his head spin. He needed formula, diapers, wipes, ointment, bottles, nipples, clothes, onesies, infant water to mix with the formula, a portable playpen… by the time she led him to the toy section, Chris was starting to get a headache. He had never known that a baby required so much, and these were only the bare essentials, which scared the hell out of him.

"He's a little young for teething, but he might like something to chew on," the girl said, showing Chris a whole barrage of toys that he could get for Skylar. "Or, it's something to keep him entertained."

"Yeah, toys are good," Chris said, as Skylar reached for a stuffed bear. Chris looked at it and sighed, "Come on kid, you already have one. How about a stuffed caterpillar instead?" Skylar kept reaching though, and Chris caved and gave it to him just as his phone rang. He reached down and turned off the ringer without looking at who it was, before deciding that enough was enough.

"Thanks a lot for the help, but I think I should get going," he told the girl politely.

"No problem, it's what I'm paid for," she said as she led him to the registers. He trailed behind her, pushing a cart as Skylar clung to his stuffed bear and leaned against Chris.

"I saw you checking her out," Chris whispered to the little boy. "I think she might like guys who've outgrown diapers, but that's just a hunch… think she'll go for me?" He was met with silence from Skylar. "Yeah, I didn't think so either," Chris chuckled as he checked out.

"Dad, I don't _know _where Chris is," Stephanie said with frustration. "I've tried calling him, he knows that we need him here early. He said he'd be here, just trust him."

"Look, we're riding a lot on his comeback tonight, the show was written to maximize it," Vince told her. "I need you to get a hold of him and make sure he's still on schedule."

"Come on, Dad," she said, trying not to whine. "I've got so many things to do, I can't just keep babysitting him and making sure he's on top of things."

"I thought you two were okay now," Vince said, looking up from the show schedule on his desk to look intently at his daughter.

"I haven't seen him in a year, I only talked to him once during this past year to ask him to come back besides all the calls today, so no, we're not exactly okay."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said, his voice only slightly apologetic. "Your mother and I don't know what's going on with you sometimes, you keep everyone out of the loop except your brother."

"That's not true," she protested. "Look, if you want me to call him again, then I will. I just think I have more important things to do."

"I would ask someone else, but he listens to you."

She forced a laugh, "Yeah, okay Dad, whatever you say."

"Well, he did when you asked him to come back," Vince pointed out, and she sighed, not having a rebuttal for that.

"He's not answering his phone, I don't know where he is," Stephanie told him again.

"Keep trying."

Chris opened the arena door, and peered in, looking both ways and making sure the coast was clear. He then disappeared behind it, reappearing with his duffel bag and Skylar's now overflowing diaper bag both slung over his right shoulder, his right hand carrying the portable playpen and his left hand holding the handle to the carseat Skylar was in. It was a lot, but he could handle it. Carrying things were easy, no sweat, a piece of cake. What wasn't a piece of cake was how he was going to handle his return while responsible for a baby he didn't even know existed until that morning.

Skylar cooed, staring at the stuffed bear that he was holding onto as Chris slowly started walking. He felt like a spy, trying not to get caught. Of course, his load he was carrying made it a little awkward to move with more stealth and more speed, but he still felt like a spy nonetheless.

"If I can just get us to my dressing room, we'll be in the clear, kid," he told Skylar, who was more interested in his bear than Chris. "The only thing will be figuring out what to do with you when it's time for my match… shit, what am I going to do with you?" Chris wondered out loud, biting his lip. There was no way they would cancel his return, and there was no way in hell he would go out for said return with a baby. That would be character suicide for Chris Jericho, and that wasn't exactly the way Chris envisioned his return to the wrestling world.

Besides, he was pretty sure Vince wouldn't let that fly in the slightest. No, he was going to have to figure out what to do with Skylar when the time came.

"Yes, here it is!" he said happily, finding his locker room. He immediately went in, closing and locking the door behind him, before setting everything, including Skylar in his carseat, down. He sighed, sitting down on the floor and leaning back against the door as he stared at Skylar who was still playing with his bear.

Chris stared at him for a long time, not knowing what he was supposed to feel. _If _Skylar was his son, and by all means, it was hard to even question that when he looked so much like him, then he didn't know what to think. He studied the baby, and even though the majority of his morning had been spent with him, he still felt the whole thing surreal.

"Hey kid," he said, bringing Skylar's blue eyes up to meet his when he got his attention. They both stared at each other for a moment, and Chris felt this strange feeling inside when he looked into the blue eyes of the little boy. They were so much like his, it made him feel… something he couldn't quite describe.

And then, Skylar slowly smiled his toothless smile at Chris, dropping his pacifier in the process. He drooled and looked down at his bear, and Chris couldn't help but smile back.

"I think I might be your dad, kid," Chris said, his voice even and calm even though those words almost made him feel dizzy from their magnitude. Skylar, on his part, looked disinterested as he hit the face of his bear with his small hand. Chris laughed, "Yeah, you're really making me think you're my son…" his voice trailed as he went back to watching and observing the little boy. It'd been so long since the last time he was even around a baby, he had almost forgotten their small quirks. And it definitely seemed like Skylar had a lot of them.

A sharp knocking on his door snapped him out of it, and he instantly stood up. He moved Skylar's carseat over, and then moved his things quickly, before partially opening the door and peering out.

"Stephanie?" he asked, surprised to see her there. She gave him a pointed look.

"Yes, it's me, who were you expecting?" she asked sarcastically as he stepped out of his dressing room and closed the door behind him. He put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, getting his cool back which he had temporarily lost at seeing her for the first time in a year.

"What, you get tired of calling me?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"Someone said they saw you stumbling into your room with a lot of things, saved me a phone call," she said with a shrug, and he chuckled.

"Well I'm glad I could give you that," he told her sarcastically, before observing, "Dyed your hair blonde huh?"

"Yeah, felt like I needed… change," Stephanie said hesitantly, lowering her eyes on her clipboard as she pretended to look it over. "You cut your hair?"

"Yeah, I needed change too."

There was an awkward silence between them, both of them with things to say to the other but neither knowing the right words to say. Chris looked away, rubbing the back of his neck, hating that he didn't know what to say to her and also hating the familiar butterflies in his stomach that she was there.

"Well, your return will give you all the change you can handle," she told him, ending their brief tension and handing him a sheet with the lineup for the night. "I'm really glad you're here now and I don't have to hunt you down anymore."

"Me too," he said, looking down at the paper and reading it over as she observed him. "It was getting kind of annoying."

"Are you calling me annoying?" she asked, one hand on her hip as he smirked, not looking up at her.

"Does your dad want to talk to me?" he asked, not answering her question.

"Yes, he does, so I expect you there in a few minutes."

"I'll be there," he said, nodding and still not looking up at her. She sucked at her teeth a little, resisting the urge to hit him with her clipboard, before straightening her shoulders.

"You better be," she said in that professional tone of his that he used to love. He looked up then, but she had already turned and was walking away. He watched her walk away for a moment, before sighing and going back into his dressing room. He looked over at Skylar, and shook his head.

"Women, kid, they're nothing but trouble… they're so damn hard to figure out," he said, as Skylar reached out his arms to him. He was about to unstrap him to pick him up before hearing the door to his dressing room start to open.

"Chris, I forgot to --" Stephanie started to say, before feeling the door stop opening. She looked surprised for a moment before Chris peered his head out at her from the other side of the door, a forced smile on his face.

"Forgot what? Something for tonight?" he asked, and she looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he hadn't let her open the door all the way.

"Uh, yeah," she said, "Just wanted to let you know that we're going to have you work with John for a little while, and then you're going to work with Edge."

"Okay, sounds great," Chris said quickly, nodding his approval. "Is that it?"

"Are you hiding something?" she asked accusingly.

"No," he answered, too quickly for her liking. He shook his head, opening the door a little more to rest his forearm on the edge of the doorframe and lean into it. "Nope, nothing to hide," he said, giving her a smile. She stared at him incredulously. "I'm serious, I was just going to call someone… I need to make a phone call," he told her, making up a lie on the spot. He was getting pretty good at that, he noted, as she seemed to accept it.

"Alright, I'll see you in… what the hell was that?" she asked, looking around as Chris bit his lip. He knew what that was… that was whimpering from a baby who was getting ready to scream.

"I didn't hear anything," he said, trying to sneak a look over at Skylar, but not wanting Stephanie to notice.

"It sounded like a kid or something," she said in confusion as Skylar's whimpering got louder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chris said, trying his best to sound nonchalant as Stephanie turned to look at him. He gave her a wide smile, and she scoffed.

"Alright, Chris Irvine, what the hell are you hiding?" she asked, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you, I'm talking to you, I'm looking at you, what the hell are you hiding?" she asked, trying to look past him as he chuckled, maneuvering quickly so he was blocking her path.

"Steph, Steph, Steph," he said, moving enough so he could close the door behind him. He put an arm around her shoulders and in doing so, forced her to walk with him… away from his dressing room. "You're really stressed out if you're hearing things, you know that? You should take a vacation."

"I already took one this year," she told him, brushing his arm off and staring intently at him. She folded her arms over in front of her, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he said, shrugging as if he had no idea what she was talking about. They both stared at each other for a moment, neither saying anything.

Then at the same time, they both ran towards his dressing room. Chris was only slightly faster than her, and he caught her right before she tore into his room, grabbing her around the waist as she squealed.

"Let me go, what the hell is wrong with you!" she yelled as he lifted her up and she squirmed in his grasp. He was reminded of Skylar's squirming, but Stephanie was over a hundred pounds heavier than the bundle of joy sitting in Chris's locker room, which made it really hard for him to hold onto her.

"You're trying to break into my dressing room, that's what's wrong with me!" he cried out, as she squirmed more in his grasp.

"I own your dressing room, I can see what's inside of it if I really want to!"

"Oh yeah, then I'll just go call Jarrett and I won't come back to your show, I bet they won't break into my dressing room there!"

"Ha! My ass you will, that's not happening, now let me go!" she yelled, and he turned her away from his room. Just as he did, he lifted her up, and she leaned all her weight back on him. He wasn't expecting it and he lost his balance, stumbling backwards right through the door to his dressing room and landing with a thud on the floor of the room with Stephanie landing right on top of him.

He groaned, shoving her a little, "Get off of me, you damn near broke my back."

"Oh shut the hell up, you're the one that couldn't… be… civilized," she finished dumbly, on her knees next to Chris and staring at the car seat that was in the room around five feet ahead of her. More specifically, she was staring at the little boy inside of it, and he was staring back at her, his blue eyes filled with tears. He reached out his arms to her as she looked at Chris, who was resting on his side as he looked down at the floor. "You have a son?" she asked, and he couldn't read the tone in her voice.

"I think so," he said somberly.

"What do you mean, you think so?"

"Someone… left him in front of my hotel room this morning," Chris admitted quietly, slowly sitting up all the way. He looked at Skylar for a moment, before looking back down, "They just left a note… I couldn't just leave him there, Stephanie, he's defenseless. So I brought him with me --"

"Stop," she said, making her way back up to her feet. "I don't want to hear it."

"Stephanie," he said, his tone no longer joking or snide or mean. He was on his feet a second later, reaching for her arm as she went to leave his locker room. "Steph, I didn't want you to find out like this…"

"Why the hell are you lying to me?" she asked him harshly, tearing her arm free from him. "You have a son, you can be honest with me about who the mother is and what the story is. You don't have to make up some bullshit story about him to appease me, Chris."

"I'm not," he insisted. "Steph, I swear to you, I didn't know this kid existed until this morning…"

"Whatever…"

"I'm serious," he said, grabbing her arm again and turning her to face him. He didn't know why, but it was bothering him so much that she didn't believe him. A part of him felt like he owed her big time, and this wasn't the way he would've liked to have started things off again between them. "I swear, I'm not lying to you," he told her, looking her right in the eye. "But I'm responsible for him, and I'm just… trying to be a good guy here."

"Good for you, I hope someone gives you a cookie for your efforts," she told him, pulling free again and walking towards the door. "I expect you there in a few minutes, Chris."

He sighed as she left, closing his eyes and running a hand over his face. Skylar's whimpering began again, and he looked over at the little boy.

"Nice timing man, pick the day I decide to come back," Chris said snidely as Skylar closed his eyes, his face turning red as he prepared to burst into tears. Chris went over immediately and unstrapped the little boy. "Alright, I'm sorry, just don't cry, kid," he pleaded, as Skylar reached his arms out to him. Chris sighed, "Just hang on… there," he finally said, lifting Skylar up out of his car seat. The little boy snuggled against him as Chris straightened, and Chris sighed as he rubbed the sniffling baby's back.

"See that girl who stormed out of here?" Chris asked Skylar, who was content with being held and having his back rubbed. "That girl was going out with your old man, but your daddy isn't very bright," he said, chuckling and no longer getting that strange feeling when referring to himself as Skylar's father. Instead, he felt a dull ache inside that had never completely gone away. He exhaled deeply, pushing it aside like he'd done for the last year.

It was getting easier every day.

"Did you like her?" Chris asked Skylar, looking down at the baby drooling on his shirt. "Yeah, that was my reaction when I first saw her too… oh well, things happen kid, people change. It doesn't matter anymore, cause it's just you and me now, kiddo. Just two bachelors looking for a good time, huh, Sky?"

He didn't get an answer, and he had to wonder why he kept talking to Skylar like he was expecting one. But maybe it was just knowing that he could be completely honest with a baby, and that a baby wouldn't judge him for his mistakes, that made him so accepting of the little boy. Skylar needed him in a way no one else did, and maybe that was why he wasn't more upset about the whole situation.

Maybe they were both just what each other needed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chris paced back and forth in his locker room on his cell phone, listening to it ring while he carried Skylar in his arms. He sighed impatiently as he paced, knowing that he only had a few minutes to get to Vince's office, lest he have Stephanie on his case. And after their rather awkward encounter a few moments ago, he didn't want to get on her bad side and make an even worst impression on his first day back.

He groaned impatiently as the phone kept ringing, "Come on, come on, come on…" he mumbled to himself while he paced, knowing he had to figure out what to do with Skylar for the night. Finally, someone from above felt pity on him and decided to give him his first real break of the day when the ringing stopped.

"Edgemeister here."

"Adam, hey, it's Chris, Chris Irvine," Chris said, feeling relieved that he had gotten through.

"Hey, Mr. Making A Big Return Tonight, what's up man? How come you didn't tell me you were coming back?"

"No one was supposed to know about it," Chris sighed.

"You told Jay though, come on, you had to know it would get to me."

"I didn't tell – you know what? It doesn't even matter, everyone and their mother knows I'm coming back tonight, but that's not why I called you."

"What's going on man? Are you in some kind of trouble or something?"

"No, I just need a favor right now in a bad way, are you here at the arena yet?"

"Yeah, I'm in my locker room, I just walked in like two and a half seconds ago," Adam said, dropping his bag on the floor of his locker room and removing his sunglasses.

"Listen, I have a meeting right now with Vince, can you come by my locker room for a few while I go talk to him, please?" Chris asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Uh, sure," Adam said, confused as he turned around and walked right back out the door. "Mind telling me why?"

"Just, come over here, I'll tell you when you get here," Chris said, before hanging up on him. Adam looked at his cell phone and scowled a bit, confused and not knowing what the hell that was all about. But he shrugged, and having nothing better to do until the show started, figured he'd go and see what was going on with Chris.

Chris, on his part, hadn't hung up to be rude. He had felt Skylar squirming in his arms and could see that the baby was a few seconds from bursting into tears, and so he had just instinctively hung up. He didn't want to tell Adam what was going on over the phone. No, it needed more tact than that.

"Shhh, shhh, I know you're hungry kid, but come on, just bear with me for a second, please," Chris told the little boy in his arms, who started crying. "It's okay Sky, shhh, Uncle Edge will feed you when he gets here, okay? How's that sound?"

It sounded irrelevant as Skylar continued bawling and Chris sighed. He was thinking about starting to make a bottle when he heard knocking on his door. Instant relief came over him, and he once again reminded himself of being tactful as he quickly went over to the door with a crying and squirming Skylar in his arms.

He opened the door and was greeted by a bewildered looking Adam, whose sunglasses were covering his widened eyes at the sight of Chris carrying a baby in his arms.

"Oh, thank God you're here man," Chris said, relieved.

"Uh… who's the kid?" Adam asked dumbly as Chris grabbed his arm and hauled him into the room.

"His name is Skylar, I need you to watch him for me," Chris said, handing the baby over to Adam who instinctively took him, a look of disbelief on his face.

"What the hell, Chris, do I look like a babysitter or something?" Adam asked defensively. "I'm not even good with kids!"

"Adam, please, just for a few minutes, just watch him for me!" Chris said desperately. But indeed, he was becoming a desperate man, and he _needed _a break from the little boy to get his thoughts together. He wasn't used to being a father or even being in a fatherly role, and if he didn't get away for a few minutes, he felt like he was going to lose his mind.

"What am I supposed to do with him!" Adam cried out in exasperation.

"Sing to him, I don't know! I have to go talk to Vince!"

"Dude, I don't even know who the hell this kid is!" Adam said, anger creeping into his voice. Granted, he was friends with Chris, good friends at that, but this situation was hardly what he would call fair.

"Just… look at him," Chris said, as Adam looked at the baby who was staring up at him with teary eyes. There was something startlingly familiar about his blue eyes, and it only took Adam a few seconds to place where he had seen those same eyes before. He looked up at Chris, speechless, as Chris nodded and pointed to Skylar's diaper bag. "I'll explain when I get back, there are bottles and diapers and all that shit, it's all over there, so please, just watch him for me."

"All right," Adam said reluctantly, and Chris didn't need a second opinion since he was out the door as soon as the words were out of Adam's mouth. Adam watched him leave and cursed him under his breath, before plopping down on the sofa with Skylar. He held the little boy out at arm's length, letting his small feet rest on his thighs even though he was pretty sure that Skylar was too little to stand on his own. Skylar looked back at him curiously, the tears still in his eyes, even though he looked calm now.

"Hi," Adam said, uncomfortable with this situation. What the hell was he going to do with him while Chris was gone? Skylar broke his train of thought when he reached clumsily out to Adam's face and grabbed his sunglasses, removing them from awkwardly from his face. Adam scowled as Skylar cooed and put the edge of his sunglasses in his mouth, before Adam snatched them back. "Hey, these babies cost me four hundred bucks, they're not your slobbing toys."

Skylar sniffled as Adam sighed, bouncing the little boy to entertain him as he watched the boy curiously. He had Chris's eyes, of that there was no doubt…

Chris stopped running once he got to Vince's office, before running both hands over his face. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all the night before, and he hoped that he wasn't showing the effects of it. The last thing he needed was to make his big return with bags under his eyes. He brushed the thought away though, figuring Vince would tell him if that was the case and would order some makeup people to take care of him.

He opened the door and walked in, smiling courteously as Vince glanced up at him from his desk. Stephanie was sitting across the desk from her father and she looked over her shoulder at Chris as he walked inside.

"Well, look at this, I don't even know who you are stranger," Vince chuckled as Chris went and sat down next to Stephanie.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Vince," Chris said easily, shooting Stephanie a quick glance. She ignored him though as she wrote something down, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She always ignored him when she was mad at him, so things hadn't changed that much.

"It's great to have you back, Chris, we've really missed you around here."

"Oh yeah?" Chris said, with just a hint of cockiness in his voice as he smiled. "The kids not getting it done around here?"

"Well, we're definitely in need of some veterans, that's for sure."

"I was just messing with you Vince, I'm really happy to be back, I've missed being around here," Chris said genuinely. Stephanie snorted a little, which went unnoticed by Vince, but not by Chris. He ignored her though, because she was being immature like she always was. And if she thought he was going to be the first to crack, then she was sorely mistaken.

Of course, he knew deep down that he _would _eventually crack and attempt to make peace between them, but at that moment, his stubbornness was prevailing over his common sense.

"Now about your return," Vince said, breaking Chris's train of thought, "I don't know if you've been made aware of this or not, but it's been leaked online."

"I already told him," Stephanie cut in just as Chris was about to respond. He sucked at his teeth, knowing that she was understandably angry with him for not telling her about Skylar, but she was being unreasonable about the whole thing. He mentally summoned his willpower so he wouldn't explode and trigger a huge fight with her in front of Vince, calming his temper and nodding.

"Yeah, I know, Stephanie was kind enough to inform me," Chris said, with a very subtle tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

"Did you tell anyone?" Vince asked bluntly. "Because I specifically told you to try to keep it under wraps so it could be a surprise for the fans."

"Vince," Chris sighed, tired of being beaten over the head with this subject, especially when something (or someone) else had unexpectedly showed up in his life that he had to take care of, "I have _no _idea how it got leaked, but trust me, I didn't say anything. I got a call early this morning from Jay Reso and he told me that it was already online, I had absolutely nothing to do with that."

"Sure you didn't," Stephanie interjected disbelievingly, and if this had been an animation, Chris's face would've been turning bright red and there would've been steam coming out of his ears, and maybe a few whistles going off on top of that. Instead, he closed his eyes momentarily and stretched out his neck, trying very hard to pay her no mind.

"You both know how much I _hate _when online reporters get a hold of what we're going to do, it completely eliminates the element of surprise," Vince said disgustedly, and Chris and Stephanie both nodded. "And I'm not just saying this for you two specifically, but it's a problem in general in the company."

"Yeah," Chris said, fidgeting his knee a little at the thought of Adam being alone with Skylar. It wasn't that he didn't trust Adam, but he was starting to feel a tad bit guilty over the way he had handled himself that day, both with Stephanie and with Adam. He was only vaguely aware of Vince continuing to talk, and though Chris was looking right at the man, the words just sounded like an assortment of meaningless sounds as his mind kept going back to Skylar.

"In any case, for the meantime, we think a feud with John Cena for starters would make the most sense for you and give some continuity from the last time you were in the company," Vince reasoned. Stephanie glanced at Chris as he nodded numbly, and she could tell that his mind was somewhere else like it usually was.

"What do you think about that?" Stephanie asked him directly, startling Chris as he glanced over at her.

"It's fine by me," Chris said, going with the safe answer since he had no idea what had just been said. But truth be told, his life was a little more complicated than who he would be facing in the ring.

"Excellent, well, I hate to cut this short, but I have a meeting with several lawyers in a few minutes," Vince said as he looked at his watch. He stood up from behind his desk, and Chris and Stephanie stood as well. "It's damn good to have you back, Chris," Vince said as he reached for Chris's hand.

"Damn glad to be back," Chris answered as he shook his boss's hand while Stephanie gathered up and organized some papers on her father's desk.

"Stephanie, you'll take care of him?" Vince asked, looking at his daughter. She nodded, giving Chris a cool look.

"Yeah, I'll make sure he knows what he's doing tonight," she said, before turning and heading out of Vince's office. Chris hesitated for a moment, before excusing himself from Vince who was busy dialing some numbers on his cell phone. He headed after Stephanie quickly, his annoyance in the room for the most part gone as he caught up to her.

"Steph, hey, hang on," Chris said, jogging up next to her as she walked quickly down the hallway.

"I'm busy," Stephanie responded in a dry tone. Chris reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking.

"Can we talk for a minute?" he pleaded, looking her in the eye. "Please?"

She sighed, and cracked like she always did, "Fine, but only for a minute, I'm really busy, Chris," she told him. He hardly seemed like he was listening anyways, since he pulled her into what appeared to be an empty locker room close by.

Chris closed the door and turned to face Stephanie, who was standing a couple of feet in front of him, one hand resting on her hip and an impatient look on her face.

"Look, I'm really sorry that you found out the way you did about Skylar… you know, the kid, that's his name," Chris started awkwardly.

"I figured that's who you meant," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, it was bad, I should've told you from the get-go, but it's like… I don't know what to do, Stephanie," he admitted, beginning to pace as a look of frustration came over his face. Stephanie folded her arms over in front of her as she watched him while he continued, "This kid, I mean, he's just a baby, not that it's that big of a deal cause I'm pretty sure I could handle it, the responsibilities and all that, but it's just… weird, like it's not happening to me…"

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"How are you going to take care of him?" Stephanie asked incredulously. "Because I find it hard to believe that you're just going to stumble across this baby and just adapt your lifestyle to suit him, you probably can't even make a bottle."

"What are you implying?" Chris asked as he stopped pacing, angry with where she was taking this. Here he was coming to her for help, to her of all people, and she was basically chopping him down before he even figured out a plan.

Stephanie sighed, "Look, I'm not saying that you're an incompetent father, but for God's sake Chris, you do realize that this is a huge responsibility, right? It's hard for fathers to ease into the role, you've had it dumped on you like a pile of bricks… of course, this is assuming that you're not bullshitting and you're not making up a story to appease me."

"Oh my God, here we go," Chris said, annoyed now. "Look, this doesn't revolve around you, not _everything _revolves around you, sweet cheeks."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, "Fine, then someone left him for you today. Right? That's what you told me in your locker room?"

"Yeah," Chris mumbled, resuming his pacing.

"How do you know he's yours then? Is it possible that this could just be a fan trying to shake you down for your money, some sick fan willing to use a baby for six or seven figures in compensation?" Stephanie asked curiously, feeling somehow compelled to clarify the situation if she could help him. Their relationship had diminished severely from what it used to be, but she couldn't erase the obligation she felt to at least try to lend him a helping hand when he sorely needed one. She could tell that he was legitimately thrown for what to do, and that wasn't like Chris at all. He was usually very decisive and direct with who and what he wanted, so it did bother her a little to see him at such a loss for what to do.

"He looks just like me," Chris sighed, stopping his pacing in front of Stephanie. He was facing the side wall though, giving her a look at his profile as he scowled. "You know what?" he said after a moment of silence. "Fuck it, I'm going to get a DNA test, maybe later this week or something."

"What are you going to do with him in the meantime?" Stephanie asked. "If you want, I can talk it over with my dad, and we can get you a good attorney to figure that all out for you."

"Figure what out?"

"What you're going to do with the baby, I mean, you don't honestly think that you can take care of him on your own in the meantime, do you?" she asked, making him give her an angry look. She rolled her eyes, "Chris, seriously, a baby is a huge responsibility."

"I already know that," he snapped.

"No, you don't fucking know that," she snapped back. "I've taken care of my nephews and it's not something you just dive into… I think it'd be better for him, and for you, if you just let it go through a legal process so that he's taken care of."

"No, I can take care of him," Chris argued stubbornly. "It's not fucking rocket science, he eats, he craps, and he sleeps. Oh, and he drools. Yeah, that's real tough, maybe I need a hardcore title to watch over that," he added sarcastically as Stephanie sneered at him.

"Fine, then what the hell are you asking me advice for? You've obviously got it all figured out, you know everything and you're always right."

"Look…" Chris sighed, "Just don't tell anyone else the real story with me and Skylar, okay? Everyone's going to see him and know him because I can't fucking hide the kid in a box or something, but they don't have to know the real story."

"I don't even know if it is the real story," Stephanie said nonchalantly as Chris groaned.

"It _is _the fucking real story," he said slowly, trying not to lose his temper with her. "I have nothing to gain by lying to you about it, it's the real story, I can show you the note the bitch left me if you want proof, or hell, you can come with me and see the kid again, that's good proof-"

"Okay, Jesus, I get the point," Stephanie said, cutting him off. "I'm not going to put your business out there either, because frankly, it doesn't concern me. So long as you fulfill your obligations to my dad and this company, then that's all I care about."

"Of course," he said sarcastically. "Why would I ever think otherwise?"

Stephanie gave him an ice cold stare, "Fine, then since I'm such an insensitive bitch, I should be going back to work so I can fire some more people and bolster my incredible reputation online. Besides, you said this would only take a minute, and that was about five hours ago."

She walked past him, feeling a frustration festering deep inside of her that was painfully familiar, and she was reaching for the handle when he spoke, "Steph, wait."

"What is it now?" she demanded impatiently, not looking back at him.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Chris said, not looking at her either. His eyes were on the floor as he contemplated how he was going to make this all work out, and for once, his scathing conversation with Stephanie wasn't lingering too heavily on his mind. After all, they had had far worse, especially near the end of their relationship a year ago.

"For what, keeping your dramatic life to myself and not posting it over everyone's locker room door?" Stephanie asked sarcastically.

"No," Chris said quietly, sneaking a glance at her.

"Then for what? Giving you advice that you're not even going to take?"

"No," he said again, before cracking a small smile, "Just for listening."

Stephanie took in his genuine tone and stood silently at the door for a moment, before opening it as Chris looked back down at the floor. He crossed his arms over his chest as she looked back at him, hesitating to leave for some reason.

"You're welcome," she told him, her tone genuine as well. He didn't look up at her again, but she did catch a glimpse of a smile on his face. She couldn't help having a small one herself, before leaving the room altogether. She chalked up their exchange to familiarity and habit. Old habits died hard, she supposed.

Unfortunately, the same could be said about her feelings for him as well.


End file.
